It's hard enough running for president and having every move you make dissected and scrutizined by the media -- let alone your opponents. Worse still is proposing a tax plan, which is inevitably going to hurt some people and help others. Hillary Clinton makes no bones about taking a bite out of the coffers of the ultra-wealthy in order to help finance some of her domestic agenda. The question remains, though, can her plan help grow the economy?
The Fiscal Times asked a panel of experts in tax and fiscal policy to review the Hillary Clinton tax plan: William G. Gale, the Arjay and Francis Miller Chair in Federal Economic Policy at the Brookings Institution and co-director of the Tax Policy Center; Doug Holtz-Eakin, a former Congressional Budget Office Director; and G. William Hoagland, a vice president of the Bipartisan Policy Center and a former Republican Senate budget official. A summary of their analysis is below:
[INSERT CLINTON COMBINED REPORT CARD]
We've broken down each expert's analysis in the three report cards below:
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Hillary Clinton's Tax Proposal Analyst: William C. Gale Co-Director Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center |
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| Legislative feasibility | B | Nothing is ever easy in the legislature. But if Clinton beats Trump and Trump has negative coattails, at least one of the Houses could turn Democratic. While it is doubtful that the any sweeping package is ever enacted completely, it is worth noting that the public generally and consistently supports higher taxes on the well off. |
| Potential for economic growth | B | The plan will probably be close to a wash in terms of economic growth over the medium term. Although there is an increase in tax rates, which might hurt growth, the reduction in debt should help growth in the long-term. Over the longer term, the impact on debt will dominate and the plan could be pro-growth. |
| Fiscal responsibility | A | This is clearly a strength of the proposal. |
| Impact on taxpayers | A | This is the other great strength. A very progressive plan. |
| Additional Comments | ||
[INSERT Holt-Eakin REPORT CARD]
[INSERT Hoagland REPORT CARD]